Drinking water contaminants as risk factors for the health of the Ulyanovsk region population

The main goal of health risk analysis is to obtain and generalize information about the possible influence of environmental factors on human health. As a result of hydrochemical analysis of drinking water supply sources in the Ulyanovsk region, a list of main contaminants has been established. It includes ammonium, iron, copper, phosphates, sulfates, chlorides, nitrates, zinc, manganese and chromium. Among them three pollutants - iron, manganese and sulfates – had surpassed maximum permissible concentration. The concentration of iron at the level of threshold chronic effects was found in drinking water of Baryshsky (0.13), Melekessky (0.16), Sengileevsky (0.13) districts. Severe chronic effects can be caused by the concentration of iron and manganese in the drinking water of the Staromainsky (0.4 and 0.3) and Cherdaklinsky (0.9 and 0.27) districts. Assessment of health risks led us to the conclusion that drinking water can serve as an additional risk factor and provoke disease development. Key words: risk factors, morbidity, maximum permissible concentration, pollutants, relative conditional risk, average daily dose.